Izzy's Redemption
by Wandergirl108
Summary: This is an OPTIONAL epilogue to my story, "Izzy's Curse". It is NOT as good as the original story, mind you. It's more than a little far-fetched, and probably a bit too focused on Izzy, but some people wanted me to have Henry get better, so here's what I came up with. Please don't be too critical. Rated T for the sake of consistency.


~Sixteen Months Later~

There was a knock at the door.

JJ sighed and stood up. She had been sitting there waiting for an hour, but she was still slightly nervous…

She opened the door.

"Hi, Jessica," she said.

Jessica Reynolds (aka Izzy Rogers) smiled and tilted her head. "You know, funny thing: I still prefer the name Izzy," she said.

"You still have some things to learn about manners," JJ commented; "when someone says 'Hi' to you, you should say 'Hi' back before you say anything else."

"Hi, Jennifer," Izzy said, chuckling.

"Oh, please, call me JJ," JJ said.

"I'll call you JJ if you call me Izzy," Izzy bantered.

JJ smiled warmly. "Deal," she said. She took a moment to marvel at the change in Izzy since the last time they had seen each other: She had a light, almost happy air about her, with no trace of her iciness, her cruelty, or even her creepy seductive act.

"Thanks for pulling the strings to get me here," Izzy said. She looked around. "I haven't been outside in a while."

"They don't let you out?" JJ asked, vaguely aware that she was stalling.

Izzy turned back to JJ. "They try to keep me isolated," she told her; "it's being around people that sets me off, and I haven't quite gotten to the point where I can handle it. Once the pain starts, only killing can stop it, so it's safer for everyone if only my therapists see me at this point."

JJ chuckled.

"Why is that funny?" Izzy asked, smiling back.

JJ shook her head. "Oh, it's just that when Chief Strauss first told us who you were and what your future was going to be after your arrest, she said you'd never see the light of day."

"Well, she would have been wrong either way," Izzy pointed out.

JJ laughed.

Izzy smiled. "I'm still a work in progress," she told JJ. "Things like this take a lot of time and effort."

"You _do_ seem like you've changed, though," JJ commented.

Izzy's face lit up at the compliment. "Thank you," she said honestly. She paused, then added, "But if you had spent any time with me lately, you would know that I still have a long way to go."

"Well, I'm proud of you for trying, Izzy," JJ said.

"It's all thanks to you, JJ," Izzy said. Her face turned serious. "Thank you," she said to JJ honestly; "for everything."

JJ smiled and nodded. "You're welcome," she said.

There was an awkward pause; neither of the two women wanted to bring up the reason Izzy had come.

"They, uh, let you keep wearing your disguise, I see," JJ said, suddenly thinking of something else to make small talk of.

Izzy smiled. "Yeah," she said; "as long as my face stays _consistent_, it doesn't really matter what it is." She sighed. "I'm still not comfortable with my own face," she told JJ; "a lot of my therapists believe that things should be handled one at a time, and my urge to brutally murder people has a _bit_ more priority than my fear of being undisguised."

It wasn't really funny, but for some reason, it still made JJ laugh.

Izzy chuckled too. Then, they both trailed off.

There was another awkward pause.

Finally, JJ sighed. "You said in your letter that you had something that might help Henry," she said.

Izzy's face fell. "How is he?" she asked softly.

JJ shook her head. "Bad," she replied sadly. "Every time I think he can't get any worse, he does. He doesn't speak anymore, doesn't acknowledge people anymore, doesn't even _walk_ anymore…we have to force-feed him. He's just…like a doll, with only one function: draw circles. In the air, on the table, on paper…" She shook her head again.

"I'm sorry," Izzy said, her eyes filled with true remorse. "I really _did_ think I was helping him…You know, at the time."

"I know," JJ said; "that's why I decided not to kill you."

"What?" Izzy asked.

"I was able to let my anger go when I realized that you actually believed what you were saying," JJ told her; "before that, my heart was pretty much set on killing you."

"Well, I'm grateful that you changed your mind," Izzy said; "and there's a chance that I might be able to fix this."

"You do realize that _you_ did this in the first place," JJ pointed out.

"Yes, I did," Izzy acknowledged, nodding; "but I might have done something different than what I _meant_ to do - I might have done something I can _fix_."

"What does that mean?" JJ asked.

"May I come in?" asked Izzy.

"Oh, of course," JJ said, stepping out of the way.

Izzy came in and shut the door behind her.

"I kept thinking about how you said that he kept drawing circles," she told JJ as they walked through the house together, "and recently, I realized that I might have done something _other_ than traumatize him. I'll warn you now, though: It's _very_ unlikely. I mean, it's hard to do on _purpose_, never mind by accident…"

"But you might be able to help him?" JJ pressed.

Izzy smiled. "If my theory is right, I'll be able to _fix_ him, almost _completely_," she replied. "Just keep in mind that it's a long shot - don't get your hopes up."

"I'm willing to try _anything_," JJ said.

"Obviously, since you're letting me come within a mile of him," Izzy commented.

JJ stopped and put a hand on Izzy's arm. "_Izzy_," she said.

Izzy stopped too and met JJ's eyes. "I know you're worried," she said softly; "I am, too. I promise, I'll do my best to not make it worse."

"I don't think you _can_," JJ said sadly.

Izzy smiled mockingly. "Careful; you might jinx it," she taunted, a hint of her old cruelty sparking in her eyes.

"Izzy!" JJ exclaimed.

"What?" Izzy asked, the moment passing. "I told you, I'm still working on things. It's been sixteen _months_, not sixteen _years_."

JJ sighed, and they resumed walking.

"Is Will home?" Izzy asked.

"No," JJ replied. "He…uh…doesn't know you're here."

Izzy chuckled, not too kindly. "Keeping secrets from your husband, are you?" she teased.

JJ stepped in front of Izzy, cutting her off. "If he knew you were coming within _three_ miles of our son, he would have hidden outside and shot you on sight," she snapped.

"I know," Izzy said softly; "and I wouldn't blame him."

JJ closed her eyes and put a hand over her face.

"JJ," Izzy said.

JJ looked back up.

"I'm sorry," Izzy told her. "I still have a long way to go, and it's not uncommon for me to relapse for a minute several times in half an hour. A lot of people say it's a miracle that I've made it as far as I have in such a relatively short amount of time. But I really am here to help your son. I want to undo what I did to him, if I can."

"Can you call him by his name?" JJ asked tonelessly.

Izzy winced. "I'd…rather not," she said; "not until I have to."

JJ said nothing, her expression blank.

"Look, where is he?" Izzy asked. "I need to go back soon."

"He's in here," JJ said, turning back around and leading Izzy into the dining room.

Henry was sitting at the table, crayons and pieces of paper scattered in front of him. He had a crayon in his hand, and he was tracing a circle over and over again one one of the papers. He didn't even seem to notice the two women's footsteps as they came in.

JJ looked at Izzy. Izzy's eyes were fixed on Henry, full of regret and sorrow.

Izzy walked over to Henry and sat down next to him. As had been the case 21 months ago, Henry was sitting at the end of the table, and Izzy sat at the side to his left.

"Hi, Henry," she said softly.

Henry didn't stop tracing the circle, but he slowly turned his head up to face her.

"Hi," she said again, trying to make her smile friendly. "Do you remember me?"

Henry said nothing. His eyes were glazed, like he wasn't really seeing what was in front of him.

"You're really good at that," Izzy said, motioning to the circle he was still tracing. "May I try?"

Henry slowly turned his face back down to the circle without a word.

Izzy quickly grabbed a red crayon and a blank piece of paper, not giving herself time for second thoughts. She grabbed his hand to hold him still. "Henry!" she said.

Henry turned his blank face to her wordlessly, then started tracing a circle on the table with the index finger on this other hand.

"Henry," Izzy said, "look at _this_!" She placed the paper down over the one he'd been drawing on. Henry looked back down as she readied her crayon.

She started drawing a circle clockwise, tracing it over and over again.

"Ring around the rosie," she sang softly; "A pocket full of posies; Ashes, ashes; We all…" She slowed down. "…fall…" She drew a line to the center of the circle. "…down," she finished, setting down her crayon as she did so.

Henry stared at the circle and crayon. A minute passed. Then another. Then another…

Just when Izzy had decided that she had been wrong, Henry blinked several times, quickly, and looked up at her. His eyes weren't glazed anymore.

They looked at each other for a moment.

"Hi, Izzy," Henry finally whispered.

Izzy laughed with relief. "Hi, Henry," she said.

"You came back," he said; his voice was weak, but just audible.

"Yes I did," she said, smiling and nodding.

Henry turned to look at JJ. "Mommy," he said.

"Henry!" JJ exclaimed. She ran over to him, dropped to her knees to be at his level, and hugged him tightly. "Oh, Henry, mommy missed you so much!" she said, crying tears of joy.

"Mommy, why are you crying?" Henry asked.

Izzy smiled, blinking back happy tears of her own. "Sometimes people cry when they're really happy, Henry," she told him.

JJ kissed her son on the forehead, then hugged him again, sobbing with happiness. Henry hugged his mother back.

"It's okay, mommy," he said.

JJ could only continue to weep with relief.

Izzy smiled at the two of them. It didn't quite feel good just yet, making other people happy, but she knew that further down the road, she would look back on this and smile, proud of herself for fixing one of her messes and making two people happy. _Three_, counting Will.

They all stayed like that for several minutes.

"Mommy, I'm hungry," Henry finally said in a whiny voice.

Both JJ and Izzy laughed.

"Kids can be demanding!" Izzy teased JJ as she stood up. "Welcome back to motherhood!"

"I'm happy to _be_ back," JJ told Izzy, her eyes still filled with tears of happiness.

Izzy smiled and nodded. "Go get him something," she said; "I'll keep an eye on him."

JJ raised her eyebrows at Izzy.

"I don't know your house," Izzy pointed out, smiling.

"_Mommy_," Henry whined.

"Okay, okay!" JJ said, laughing, and she walked away - the kitchen wasn't far.

"Henry," Izzy said softly when JJ was gone.

Henry looked at her.

"Do you remember what I told you, the last time I was here?" Izzy asked him. "The story about my life, and how the world is cruel?"

Henry nodded. "I'll always remember," he said.

Izzy sighed. "Well, I was wrong," she told him.

"About what?" asked Henry.

"About life being nothing but pain and fear," Izzy replied. "Fun and games _do_ have a place in this world, and life isn't about pain…it's about learning, and growing, and finding your place in the world - a place where you're happy, and where you belong," she quoted, smiling. "You don't have to be scared of the world, Henry," she told him. "You go outside and play and have fun. That's what little boys do."

"Okay," Henry said, and he smiled.

Izzy grinned back.

"Hey, Izzy?" Henry asked.

"Yes, Henry?" Izzy asked.

"How come I've been so sleepy since the last time you were here?" he asked.

Izzy was surprised for a split second, but quickly recovered. "I put an evil spell on you," she joked, smiling; "like a wicked witch!"

Henry giggled. Izzy grinned; her appreciation for little children had grown since her own baby had been born.

JJ came back with a snack for Henry. Izzy stood up.

"Well, I need to go," she told them.

"Won't you stay?" Henry whined.

Izzy and JJ glanced at each other, both unsure whether or not to laugh.

"No, Henry," Izzy finally replied, "I need to go now. It was nice to see you again, though!"

"Nice to see you, too," Henry said. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Henry," Izzy said with a smile, and she turned to go.

JJ hesitated, then made up her mind.

"Henry, mommy will be right back," she told her son. She bent down and kissed him on the head again. "I love you," she told him.

"I love you too, mommy," Henry said.

JJ smiled, then went after Izzy.

"Izzy," she called.

Izzy stopped and smiled at JJ.

JJ smiled back. "I think he likes you," she said as they walked back through the house together.

"Surprising, isn't it?" Izzy joked.

"Yeah…" JJ sighed. "Well, maybe he doesn't remember what you told him, since you did….whatever you just did."

"No, he remembers," Izzy told JJ.

"How do you know?" JJ asked.

"I asked him," Izzy replied.

JJ caught Izzy's arm and stopped her.

Izzy turned to her. "To tell him I was _wrong_," she clarified, mildly indignant at what JJ had assumed. "Life isn't about pain and fear. I used your quote," she added.

"What quote?" JJ asked.

"You know, what you told me that night." Izzy replied. "About how life is about learning and growing and finding your place and such."

JJ smiled. "Thank you," she said.

Izzy shrugged. "It was the least I could do, after everything you've done for me," she said.

They kept walking.

"Hey, what _did_ you do, anyway?" JJ asked. "With the circle and the song?"

"Oh, that?" Izzy chuckled, but the sound didn't hold much humor. "Well, do you remember when I told you that I tried to scare him and he didn't get it?" she asked JJ.

"Yeah," JJ replied.

"Well, that was…pretty much what I did," Izzy told her: "He was doodling, you see, and I picked up a green crayon, traced a circle counterclockwise on his paper, and sang that song as wickedly as I could - I actually went out of my way to _try_ to be creepy."

"So what was with the circle now?" JJ asked.

Again, Izzy chuckled. "I thought he just didn't get it," she said, "but when you told me he kept drawing circles, I realized that what I _actually_ did was hypnotize him."

"Hypnosis?" JJ repeated incredulously. "Really?"

"I know," Izzy acknowledged. "It was really unlikely. Like I said, it's hard to do on _purpose_, never mind by accident; and besides, it technically shouldn't even have been possible for someone his age - little kids usually don't have enough of an attention span. But he was _very_ absorbed when I did it, and I remembered that and thought that maybe…" She shrugged. "Well, it worked, against all odds." She paused, then turned to JJ and said, "You have a very smart kid. Take good care of him."

"I will," said JJ.

Izzy nodded and turned for the door.

"Hey, how's yours, by the way?" JJ asked.

Izzy turned back, an uncomfortable expression on her face. "She's…fine," she said hesitantly.

"Oh, it was a girl?" asked JJ.

Izzy nodded. "Yes. She's…" She hesitated, then sighed. "I don't get to see her very often," she told JJ; "less and less as she grows up." She smiled sadly. "Her first birthday was two days ago…and I wasn't there."

"Why don't you get to see her?" asked JJ.

Izzy raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm a murderer, a terrorist, a bomber, a bank robber, a kidnapper, a thief-"

"Innocent by reason of insanity," JJ reminded her.

Izzy closed her eyes. "Innocent by reason of insanity means I still did all those things," she pointed out softly. She opened her eyes and added, "It's for the best, really. I don't want my daughter to be raised by a monster."

"You're not a monster," JJ said.

Izzy sighed. "I still have a long way to go," she said. "I…I can't risk my evil resurfacing when my daughter is there to see it, and that happens a lot. I'm getting better, but…it really is for the best that she doesn't see me very often, at least for now."

JJ decided not to argue; it was admirable that Izzy was making that sacrifice for her child's sake. "Do you know who's taking care of her?" she asked instead.

"No, not really," Izzy sighed. "It's a woman, I know that much - I made _sure_ of that," she added.

JJ nodded, understanding. "I'm sorry you weren't there for her birthday," she said.

"Oh, it's okay," Izzy said. "I…don't really do birthday parties anyway." Her expression darkened. "_My_ birthdays were never something to celebrate when _I_ was a child," she said; "they just meant one more year my grandfather kept me alive to torture me."

JJ swallowed. "I'm sorry," she said.

"No, no, it's okay," Izzy reassured her.

There was a pause.

"So…what happens to you now?" JJ asked.

"Now, I go back and keep working on getting myself straightened out," Izzy said. "Maybe someday I won't be a danger to society anymore. If that day comes, I…want to find a way to do something good for the world, for a change." She smiled. "Like I just did for you."

JJ smiled. "Thank you," she said. "Thank you for helping my son."

"It was the least I could do, after everything you've done for me," Izzy repeated. "Besides, it was my fault in the first place anyway."

JJ smiled but nodded; it _was_ true, after all.

Suddenly, JJ thought of something.

"How did you guess hypnosis?" she asked Izzy. "And how did you know how to undo it?"

Izzy blinked. "Well, it's pretty simple," she said; "like I said, he was completely absorbed by what I was doing when I traced the circle the first time. As for how to fix it, green and counterclockwise made it happen, so I figured red and clockwise might undo it."

"But how did you think of that?" JJ asked. "You're not-"

"Not what?" Izzy asked, smiling. "Not that smart?"

"I…" JJ shook her head. "It's just…your GPA was 2.0, and your IQ was completely average. You shouldn't be…I'm not saying you're not smart, but you shouldn't be _that_ smart!"

As JJ spoke, Izzy's eyebrows met with confusion. Then she blinked and smiled as she understood.

"Oh, you're thinking of Jessica Reynolds," she said; "if you had looked up that information for Izzy Rogers, you would have found _very_ different results."

"But your IQ…"

"I was careful," Izzy told JJ; "I worked very hard to not stand out in any way, so my grandfather wouldn't hurt me more - I lived in fear of him, and didn't want to do anything that would make him mad, and if someone had found out…" Izzy swallowed, a trace of that old fear clearly resurfacing. She took a breath, then went on, "Once I was free, I was able to apply myself, and it turned out that I was pretty far _above_ average."

"But your _IQ_," JJ said again.

"I faked it," Izzy said. "I deliberately answered some of the questions wrong - not enough that it would seem like I was _trying_ to, but enough to get me an average score."

"That's…_scary_ smart," JJ said, surprised.

A slightly wicked grin crossed Izzy's face. "Come on," she said; "do you really think a C average girl would have been able to mastermind all those bank robberies, make all those bombs by hand, commit pretty much every attention-drawing crime under the sun and get away with it, and escape all those virtually impossible scenarios like I did, all on her own?"

JJ blinked.

"I used my intelligence for the wrong things," Izzy said, "but that doesn't mean I didn't have it…and once I get out, if that day ever comes, I want to try using it to do something _good_."

For a moment, JJ was too stunned to speak.

"You…_will_ get out," she finally said. "If what I've seen of you today is any indication, you'll be better in no time."

"It's all thanks to you, JJ," Izzy said. "I cannot thank you enough for everything you've done for me." She chuckled. "It's funny, really; you're actually the closest thing to a mother I've ever had myself."

JJ laughed. "Speaking of which, I better get back to my son," she said.

Izzy smiled and nodded. "Kids are a lot of work," she said. "I know you'll raise him well, though. You're a good mother. Someday, I hope I can be like you."

"You can," JJ told her, smiling back. She thought of something. "Hey, what's your daughter's name?" she asked.

Izzy grinned. "What do you think?" she teased.

JJ blinked, then smiled. "Oh, you did _not_," she said.

Izzy laughed. "Oh yes I did," she said; "Jennifer Downs, my beautiful daughter."

JJ laughed, too.

Izzy sighed. "Well, I really _do_ need to go," she said. "Goodbye, JJ, and thank you."

"Thank _you_," JJ said. "Good luck!"

Izzy laughed, slightly mockingly. "_I'm_ not the one who needs luck - _I_ just have to work hard," she said; "_you're_ the one who needs luck!"

"With what?" JJ asked.

Izzy smiled. "The war on evil," she answered. "Good luck with that - you've got your work cut out for you, and _this_ vigilante has retired."

JJ laughed; Izzy had clearly meant the vigilante thing as a joke. "Goodbye, Izzy," she said.

"Goodbye, JJ, and thank you again," Izzy said.

As Izzy opened the door and stepped outside, JJ said, "Hey, Izzy?"

Izzy turned back.

JJ looked in her eyes. "I forgive you," she told her softly.

Izzy smiled with genuine happiness. "Thank you," she said; "that means a lot to me."

JJ nodded. "Goodbye," she said.

"Bye," Izzy said, and she left, closing the door behind her.

JJ stood there for a moment. Then, she turned around and went to go play with her son.


End file.
